Another departure from city hall!

[Rosemary1]

yep, frequent turnover is considered one of the 5-7 top signs of some kind of problem in an organization but what it is we will probably never know unless someone talks

[Donald G]

Would we not first have to identify what we mean by frequent turnover and then identify on what basis we reached the conclusion that there was in fact a frequent turnover.

Is anything less than that that not like claiming that the jigsaw was completed when there were still large pieces missing??

[Rosemary1]

And another one bites the dust - Tina Lee the Communications Manager. Wonder if announcement of the contracting of a of a community engagement consultant played into this one. Just a few too many leavings to be coincidence alone it seems

[fluffy]

And another one bites the dust - Tina Lee the Communications Manager. Wonder if announcement of the contracting of a of a community engagement consultant played into this one. Just a few too many leavings to be coincidence alone it seems

Any word on why she left ?

[MarcD75]

Evidence? How about the parade of senior staff that have left in the last few years either voluntarily or otherwise after only a short term in their positions? As the reasons will never be made public due to confidentiality concerns, which is rather convenient to your "provide evidence" request, the shear number of departures sets off some serious alarm bells about dysfunction in City Hall does it not?
So where is the problem? The City advertises for a position, HR staff receive application and vet and shortlist. Managers review shortlist and provide refined shortlist to CAO. Decision on who to interview is determined and CAO and upper managers participate in interviews. A short short list is then arrived at which the CAO then presents to council with recommends in order of CAO's opinion in camera. Council then makes the decision.
So again, where is the problem and why does Penticton have a parade of mangers coming and going? Is it because they somehow after the entire vetting process are found to be "not the correct fit" because they dared to question the gong show logic of their direct manager?
That's where my money is.

My understanding is the HR department forces out those she doesn't like

[Drip_Torch]

Fluffy wrote:

Let me say that I'm not saying that this council is perfect, what council ever is? I think you'd have t go back to the days of Ivan Messmer to find a Penticton mayor who be be truthfully described as popular and even then he had his share of detractors. My position here is that I take issue with people who issue a groundless opinion as fact. Something wrong at City Hall? Show me

http://www.castanet.net/news/Penticton/ ... otten-home

the house itself, which is owned by the City of Penticton, has seen its share of neglect, according to its tenant, who also (worked) for the city as a geographical information system analyst.

Eric Rehwald is on his way out for work in Burns Lake, and he's looking to the city for being what he has called a neglectful landlord since he moved into the place in July.

Rehwald was given July's rent for free, which was compensation for Rehwald taking care of cosmetic repairs and maintenance.

However he said he wouldn't begin work until the city made the place livable, with some windows appearing to contain mould, no hot water due to a leaking tank – which resulted in water damage to the rug in the basement – and some of the house's wiring appearing to be dangerous.

"I held off on doing any of that, because if I don't have a habitable place, what's the point," he said. "I'm not going to invest my time if I don't have running water, safe electrical ... So I held off doing any upgrades at all."

Rather than sleep in the house, Rehwald says he has tented out in the backyard, for which he negotiated to pay $500 per month, rather than the $1,300 on the lease.

snip.

The response also says Rehwald's reduction in rent was for the ability to camp and use the garage for storage, but notes that an inspection following his Aug. 30 notice of not renewing his month-by-month lease indicated that he had been using facilities in the house, such as the fridge, stove, washrooms and washer and dryer.

Oh I don't know... it's probably nothing, but do other cities experience problems when they rent out properties like this - for people to camp on? Clearly, this guy has an agenda, and it seems to involve finding a place to live that doesn't contain rat feces and have live electrical wires sticking out of the floor.

Hope our ex GIS analyst finds peace and comfort in Burns Lake.

IMHO, no-one should be treated like this.

[fluffy]

I agree. Better the places were boarded up and left empty if what the place needs is beyond "cosmetic repairs and maintenance". As a ticketed carpenter I have been approached in the past with "work for rent" offers, but in just about every instance the work needed went well beyond what could have been compensated by reasonable rent. There is some fault on both sides here, as landlord the city should have been well aware of any deficiencies affecting the livability of the house before putting it up for rent, and been clear about what needed to be done and who would be responsible for it. Mr. Rehwald. on the other hand, should have been clear on what he was getting into, and that a beachfront house for $500. a month with the first month free. I don't know what the city's long term plans are for the property, but twenty grand in repairs could be recouped in about a year for what a location like that could generate in rent.

[southy]

Does anyone know where revenue from these rental properties end up? What are they shown as? Suppose I could try and contact city hall but not sure how far I'd get.

[Drip_Torch]

(Well, the good lord hates a coward and who doesn’t enjoy a good backstory.)

Mr. Rehwald can only speak to the neglect that’s taken place since July of this year, when he agreed to a month to month lease at $1300/ month.

The neglect has been an ongoing issue for many years.

Six years ago, when I was last inside the place, I wouldn’t have described it as nice, but perhaps I would have gone with the word "quaint" and at very least "habitable".

This June, I was invited into the house for another look, oddly, by a couple from Vancouver that apparently camp there annually, and were unaware of the previous tenant’s departure. There are holes in the walls (I understand, there could be abatement issues, due to the fact the house was constructed around 1956) leaking fixtures, water damage, signs of mold ( again, I’m not an expert), the cabinets were damaged and no longer connected to the house and there was garbage strewn everywhere. It was like midway through a meal an army of people just decided to leave.

Did I mention the bath tub and tiles were half painted forest green? (Hmm, in retrospect, perhaps they were painting the bathtub, stopped for supper and moved out midway through the meal, but I digress ...)

So, what happened? I could get into that, but I don’t really think that’s the issue, in as much as it is, whose watch did it happen under?

The signs were all there, complete with complaints, rumour suggests significant arrears, and obvious misuse of city property.

In my humble opinion, the neglect has been obvious and the landlord is a terrible neighbour. I feel bad for the people that live next door.

Johann Wessels, who has lived next door for five years, says he has seen the house go to the dumps over the past three years.
He's seen transients camp on the site over the summer with previous tenants, and that random people have been found sleeping in the house.
"At one point, I think we counted something like six or seven different tents," he said, adding that he had contacted the city about it. "The person we spoke to at the city said he knew about it ... But nothing seemed to happen."

I concur with Mr. Wessels, except he suggests he’s only seen up to seven tents there in the summer. He goes to bed early, there were more, at times, plus a couple campers, a few more camping in cars parked out front and a 5th wheel trailer parked in the back.

When the house was vacated, a direct contract was awarded to a young fellow, who trucked away 15 full sized pickup loads of garbage. As a landlord, how do you not notice that your tenant has accumulated 15 full truckloads of garbage on the property?

How do you not notice the sublease to another tenant that’s living in a 5th wheel, the ones in the basement, or the tents in the yard? The structure that supported the high-rise tent is still there.

When did it become okay for a landlord in this city to lease out a camping space and leave a building unoccupied?

As a tenant, or a neighbour, how do you take on an irresponsible and neglectful landlord? Call the City and ask them to enforce their good neighbour bylaw and building codes?

In my humble opinion … If the rumours are correct Southy, hunting down where the revenue ends up in the city, off of this property anyways… won’t be much of a worthwhile venture.

[Drip_Torch]

So... the show me part.

It seems we agree that this isn't how things should be working in this case. I certainly agree that the repairs could have probably been partially recouped, by now - in rent. My opinion, based on what I saw in June when I was last in the house, is that the whole house cleanup and restoration should have been handled by a disaster remediation specialist.

What this suggests to me, is that the city isn't really functioning off of a fixed organizational chart that outlines roles and responsibilities. It suggests a more dynamic power structure that functions with the who of the 5 W's (who what where why when) in bold. An organic power structure perhaps?

The rational of that observation is based on the fact that we live in a society governed by the rule of law. Which is to say, every four years now, we go to the polls and make a number of X's on ballots and those people, that we elect, spend countless hours reading and attending meetings to create bylaws. In essence those bylaws become the regulations that we all consent to govern ourselves by; and thumb the nose at those bylaws - we disrespect those we elected and the very system that we choose to govern ourselves by.

By the city's reply in both the Herald and on Castanet, the house in question has been unoccupied for over 90 days.

In my opinion, for over 30 days there has been a direct and obvious contravention of COP's good neighbour bylaw - vacant building regulations. By now, the situation should involve both the bylaw enforcement office and the chief building inspectors office - in theory, but I don't see that happening. There are no permits displayed on the structure, the windows are not boarded up, the rats and bats testimony suggest the exterior is not maintained to the standard proscribed in Schedule F. The reply by the city in the news articles, doesn't seem to show any regard for that bylaw - whatsoever.

The intention of council is that buildings, such as this, are to be dealt with in an organized and progressive manner. The corporation, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be honouring those intentions.

[twobits]

So, what happened? I could get into that, but I don’t really think that’s the issue, in as much as it is, whose watch did it happen under?

The City's land manager. The same guy that renewed the Attril Bros lease at Skaha Marina 2 1/2 yrs after the last one expired for another 3 yr term only to start the circle jerkk again in 6 months. This happened several times.
What has happened with this house does not surprise me at all.

[antiArmChairQB]

So the departures from senior city staff has started again...what is going on ???
Apparently a long term manager is leaving City Hall. Who is it and why?

[pentona]

So the departures from senior city staff has started again...what is going on ???
Apparently a long term manager is leaving City Hall. Who is it and why?

From Info news today:

PENTICTON - Another senior staffer is leaving the employ of the City of Penticton.

Mayor Andrew Jakubeit says human resources manager Gillian Kenny submitted her resignation effective June 2.

Gillian has been employed with the city for 12 years.

“We would like to thank her and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours,” Jakubeit says in a statement. He says personnel matters are private and confidential, and the he would not be making further comment on her departure.

Kenny joins a lengthening list of city employees that have left the City of Penticton's employ over the past four years, including chief administrative officer Annette Antoniuk in February, 2015.

Facilities and interim chief administrative officer Chuck Loewen left in June 2015, and development services director Jules Hall parted company in July 2016.

Chief administrative officer Eric Sorensen left the City’s employ in August 2016 and Peter Weeber took over the reins in November 2016.

Development services director Anthony Haddad left in October 2014, but was rehired in October 2016.

Communications officer Mark Parker was hired in September 2016 replacing Tina Lee who had replaced Simone Blais earlier in the year.

Jim Bauer was recently hired to replace retiring chief financial officer Colin Fisher in October, 2016.

[pentona]

So the City has hired yet another Communications Officer. (several have left the position in past) Why do we even need another position? Already have an "Engagement Officer" (whatever the heck that is). You would think that one person could easily do both jobs, considering that in the past, Councillors would communicate and we had neither position. Seemed to work quite well back then.
https://www.castanet.net/edition/news-s ... htm#211633

[twobits]

Apparently current staff cannot "communicate" nor "engage" to or with the public. It takes another 200k in wages and benefits to check those boxes.